Keep your number when you switch mobile provider (Australia)
Short version
In most cases you can keep your mobile number when you change provider. This is called porting. You ask your new provider to move the number across, and your current provider has to let it go. Check your contract for exit fees first, and don't cancel your old service yourself before the move is done.
Can you keep your number when you switch?
Usually, yes. The ACMA says your current telco must port your number to a new telco if you or your new telco ask it to. This covers mobile numbers starting with 04, including prepaid services (ACMA — Keep or transfer your phone number).
Only active numbers can be ported. A number that has been disconnected can't be moved, so keep your old service running until the port is finished.
A new provider will usually accept your number, but it doesn't have to. Ask before you sign up (ACMA — Switch your phone or internet service provider).
How to port your number, step by step
- Check your current plan: are you still in a contract, and do you still owe anything on a phone?
- Choose your new provider and confirm it will take your number.
- Sign up with the new provider and ask it to port your number. Have your current account details handy so it can show the number is yours.
- Complete the extra identity check. Mobile ports have one to stop fraud, such as a unique code sent to you by SMS (ACMA — Rules for porting a phone number).
- Put in the new SIM when your new provider tells you to. You don't need a new phone just to port.
- Pay any final bill from your old provider.
Before you switch: contracts, fees and final bills
The ACMA suggests checking your contract for early termination fees before you leave (ACMA — Switch your phone or internet service provider). If you bought a handset on a payment plan, find out what is left to pay and how it will be charged once you go.
Your old provider may charge a fee to port your number, and you still have to pay any final bills (ACMA — Keep or transfer your phone number). Ask what both will be before you move.
Before you leave, it can be worth asking your current provider whether it has a better plan for you. No rule says it has to offer one, so treat any offer as something to compare, not a reason to stay.
Cooling off: when you can change your mind
A cooling-off period applies when a salesperson approaches you without an invitation, for example at your door, over the phone or in a public place (ACMA — Understand your phone or internet contract). For these unsolicited sales, the ACCC says you have 10 business days to cancel for any reason without penalty (ACCC — Door-to-door and telemarketing sales).
If you went to the provider yourself, online or in a store, this cooling-off right may not apply. Read the provider's own terms before you sign.
If your number is moved without your OK
Since 2020, providers must check your identity before they port a mobile number (ACMA — Rules for porting a phone number). Even so, if your phone suddenly loses service and you didn't ask for a port or a new SIM, contact your provider straight away.
If your provider doesn't fix it, you can complain to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. Its guide covers what to do after an unauthorised SIM swap (TIO — SIM swaps).
Sources
- ACMA — Keep or transfer your phone number
https://www.acma.gov.au/keep-or-port-your-phone-number - ACMA — Rules for porting a phone number
https://www.acma.gov.au/port-customers-phone-number - ACMA — Switch your phone or internet service provider
https://www.acma.gov.au/switch-your-phone-or-internet-provider - ACMA — Understand your phone or internet contract
https://www.acma.gov.au/understand-your-telco-contract - ACCC — Door-to-door and telemarketing sales
https://www.accc.gov.au/business/advertising-promoting-your-business/door-to-door-telemarketing-sales - Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman — SIM swaps
https://www.tio.com.au/guides/problems-your-service/sim-swaps
General information only, not personal advice. Sources last checked . Spotted something wrong? Tell us.